In the current work, the coupled mathematical models for decarburization, fluid flow model and inclusion collision-aggregation model were solved to investigate the spatial distribution of carbon, inclusion's collision-aggregation and removal in a single snorkel vacuum refining furnace (SSF). The numerical results show that the turbulence kinetic energy of ladle in SSF is much greater than that in RH, which can shrink the dead zone and prompt the mixing in the ladle. The overall decarburization reaction rate can be described as a first-order reaction. On the condition of the same gas flow rate, the volumetric mass transfer coefficient for decarburization in SSF is almost twenty times bigger than that in RH, which leads to a much greater decarburization rate in SSF. The spatial distribution of carbon mass fraction in SSF is quite different from that in RH. There is the greater mass fraction of carbon at the recirculation zone under up-snorkel in RH, but this phenomenon disappears in SSF. The inclusion removal can be simplified as the mass transfer between liquid steel to slag, refractory wall and bubble surface. And the overall inclusion removal rate can be regarded as a first-order reaction. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient for inclusion removal in SSF is about three times as that in RH, the inclusion removal rate in SSF is greater than that in RH. The inclusions with different size have different removal rates in SSF. For inclusion flotation after deoxidization, the treatment time in SSF is less than that in RH.
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